


Downfall

by MissWonnykins



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Gore, RIP Ash's hat, Rescue, Sinnoh/Gen 4, fanart inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 00:50:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10547214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissWonnykins/pseuds/MissWonnykins
Summary: Sometimes, you're just up a creek without a paddle.In Gary's case, he's down a hole without a ladder OR a leg to stand on.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [putridpastries](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=putridpastries).
  * Inspired by [Untitled](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/281868) by putridpastries. 



> Based on fanart by the lovely putridpastries on tumblr. There's some fantastic artwork on that blog for Pokemon fans, so go check it out.

If Arceus truly existed, and if it actually HAD created everything, then it assuredly hated Gary Oak and was laughing at him.

 

Lightning illuminated the bottom of the crevice, briefly showing the boy once again how small and suffocatingly tight it was. He couldn’t stretch out his legs. He needed to, wanted to; every second he was forced to keep them curled up to his chest was agonizing. One of Gary’s hands felt along from his left knee to his shin, where the fabric of his pants was tattered, torn, and sticky with blood. He didn’t dare feel any further, knowing what he’d find and not wanting to coat his fingertips in blood again.

 

It was an accident. The rain had started while he was out collecting data for the Professor, and he had been making his way back to his campsite when the ground underneath of him had slid away and sent him sliding down a mini-mudslide that ended at this crevice he was now stuck inside. Unfortunately, in his fall he had managed to badly bust open his left leg in the front. **Double** unfortunately, his Pokeballs were not on his belt where they ought to be. Instead, he had placed them inside his travel pouch to protect them from the rain.

 

Inside the pouch that was currently over seven feet higher up on the crevice lip, where he couldn’t reach it. It had snagged there when he’d fallen, the clip snapping open and the fabric catching between several sharp stones. Gary had struggled to hold onto the lip, but the rain had made the surface there impossible to get a hold on. He hadn’t even noticed that he didn’t have the small bag until he’d gone for it in order to find something to clean the blood from his wound.

 

It was nearing sundown, and he was out in the forest in the middle of a storm where no one in their right mind would likely find him. His throat was sore from hollering for help. Things were not looking well for the upstart researcher…

 

...and then a stupid _hat_ came tumbling down a couple feet away.

 

It startled the boy - he hadn’t seen or heard it coming down until it landed out of the corner of his eye. It was such a shock that he didn’t even piece together that it was familiar to him and that he _knew who wore that stupid hat_.

 

Gary had only had it dawn on him just as the voice floated down from overhead.

 

“Aw no…! I think it went down here, Pikachu...I can’t see anything down there.”

 

Thunder shook the ground. Gary swore it was Arceus laughing even harder at him.

 

If he looked straight up, he could just make out the shapes of a person and a Pokemon looking over the edge of the crevice. The moment he moved, the Pokemon let out a startled cry and began to point and gesture wildly at him. “...?! Whaddya mean, is there someone down there…?!” It was a boy, for sure, and a boy Gary knew. “Hey! Are you okay down there?!”

 

“Quit shoutin’!” Gary snapped back. “And _no_ , I’m _not_ ‘okay’! You think I just sit down here in these sorts of places for fun?!”

 

There was a small gasp overhead. Lightning struck - Gary saw it arch across the cloudy sky, and in that moment was able to see clearly that Ash Ketchum was the one looking down at him from overhead. “Gary…?” The trainer knelt down, squinting into the dark. “Why’re you down there…?”

 

“For giggles, Ash. Can you get me out, or not?”

 

The trainer tutted, sounding miffed. “Sheesh...you don’t have to be mean about it. What’s the matter? Where’re your Pokemon at?” At once, Ash tensed up. “Hey--! Nobody stole’em, did they?! I haven’t seen anybody, but they can’t be far away, right?!”

 

He continued to ramble on, sounding more and more fired up. As flattering as it was to have someone out for vengeance in his name, Gary was more concerned about getting out of the squeeze he was in and fixing up his leg. He reached over, grabbed up a rain-slicked stone, and hurled it upwards. There was a soft ‘ow!’ that let him know he’d hit his mark. “I fell, okay? Nobody took off with my Pokemon, dummy. My bag’s right there near your Pikachu.” Ash turned his head a little, reaching out after a moment for the pack and tugging it free of the rocks. “I would’ve gotten out a lot earlier, but I hurt myself on the way down, so…”

 

Gary trailed off, finally feeling embarrassed as Ash made the connection and simply mumbled ‘oh’ under his breath. There was some scuffling, along with the sound of a zipper being unzipped. “Hold on, okay, Gary? I’ll come down and get you!”

 

“Fantastic.” The older boy grumbled, rolling his eyes. “I was wondering when you’d offer to help out instead of standing around with your thumb up your--”

 

Thankfully, thunder cut him off before he could say anything too trashy and Gary didn’t make an effort to say the word again after the noise cleared away. It wasn’t too long before something else came down over the edge of the hole: a rope, knotted at the end. “Can you get up at all?” Ash called down.

 

“Tried.”

 

“Yikes…” The other boy grimaced sympathetically down at him. “Sorry, Gary. All right, I’m comin’ down.”

 

“It gets kinda cramped…!” Gary warned.

 

Ash must have tied the other end of his rope to a tree nearby, because he came down along the wall with ease. His feet hit the muddy floor with a small splash, crushing his hat into the damp earth. “Aw man--not my hat!” The boy whimpered a little, picking it up and examining the then filthy cap forlornly. He did his best to stick it into his back pocket before finally kneeling down next to Gary. There was a sudden flash of light that made the researcher shut his eyes for a second. Ash was silent - when Gary opened his eyes again, he saw the boy staring at his bleeding leg in horror with a flashlight in one hand. “...You really _ARE_ hurt...how long were you down here?”

 

“I dunno. I don’t exactly have a watch on me.” He hissed as his friend reached out to push aside the ragged part of his pant leg. “Don’t touch it!”

 

“I gotta.” Ash’s stern tone surprised him, and Gary kept quiet. Clamping the end of his flashlight between his teeth, the dark-haired boy dug into his jacket pocket and fished out a small folding knife. Gary wanted to make a crack about not needing his leg cut off when Ash flipped the blade open and slipped it through one of the large holes in the other’s pant leg. It took a few tries to cut through the fabric, but he did his best to make a good sized hole so that he could physically rip the rest of the damaged cloth away. Then he took the knife to his OWN pants at the cuff, tearing off a sizeable strip.

 

The younger boy was exceedingly gentle when fastening the makeshift bandage to Gary’s leg. He did his best not to accidentally prod the open wound with his fingers, tying the fabric tightly off to one side. It would help stave off the bleeding, and though it wasn’t THAT bad Gary had to commend Ash for recognizing how to apply that kind of needed pressure to an area. At that point, Gary’s eyes began to wander, and he finally opened his mouth to speak again. “You look pretty banged up, too.”

 

Ash glanced at his face, but didn’t comment - it would’ve been hard to understand him with the flashlight in his mouth. Still, it was easy for Gary to pick out the tiny scuffs on Ash’s own clothes, the small tears and even a couple bruises. He even had one on his jaw, when he finally was able to pull the flashlight away and shined it briefly on his face. “Ah...well, y’know me. I can trip over anything. This rain’s not doin’ a whole lot for the ground…” Ash explained in a huff, sounding bitter. “Good thing BOTH of us didn’t end up like this, huh? Then we’d both be in trouble.”

 

And Gary wanted desperately to yell at him because that sounded dumb and he was in no mood for jokes...but he couldn’t. Ash was clearly just trying to lighten things up for him. So instead he found himself nodding reluctantly. “Yeah…”

 

Satisfied, Ash got back up to his feet and grasped the other boy by his upper arms. “All right...y’re gonna have to hold onto me until I can get you up on your feet, so pick a spot and don’t get mad at me.”

 

Easier said than done. Gary gripped Ash’s own arms tightly, fingers digging into the fabric of his sleeves as he braced himself. The moment the boy shifted to help pull him upright, he felt muscle under his palms and found himself wondering where and when Ash had managed to gain some strength. The moment he had to move his leg in any way sent those thoughts flying away, however, because it was instant agony. “Wait, wait, wait…!”

 

“Nope.” Ash denied, tightening his grip on Gary’s arms even as Gary fought with him. “If you stop now, it’s gonna take forever. Get a grip.”

 

That was such a ‘Gary’ thing to say; hearing it come out of Ash’s mouth made him briefly want to burst out laughing. It still took a good fifteen seconds for him to full stand upright, and even then he wouldn’t put any weight on his injured leg...nor let go of his friend. Only when Ash pulled back to stand closer to the rope did he let go, hands gripping onto the wet rock face of the wall beside him instead.

 

“I’m gonna boost you up as you climb.” The trainer told him, gesturing upwards. Gary peered up - at his height, the edge of the crevice was only three or so feet away from his head, but it felt like miles upwards with each throb through his shin. “Don’t worry, okay? I’m not gonna let you get hurt again. Pikachu’s right up there, too.”

 

“Pikachu’s the size of a bread box.” The Pokemon in question chattered in an offended way at Gary in turn. “I doubt it’ll be able to just pull me up the rest of the way.”

 

Ash shrugged, waiting for the other boy to hobble over to the rope. “You’d be surprised what Pikachu can do sometimes.” He said, simply, “But I meant that it could go get help.”

 

“O-oh…” Gary’s face flushed bright red. “...Sorry.”

 

His friend merely gestured for him to reach up and grab on. The moment he did, he could feel the other’s arms wrap around his waist and lift him up a little (once again calling into question _when did Ash start working out?!_ ). It was a bit awkward to climb that way, but it did work: Gary was able to haul himself up the rope and to the edge of the crevice within several minutes, thanks to Ash’s help. Of course, this meant the trainer had his hands all over his lower half - at one point placing his hands on the backs of the researcher’s thighs to push him up further - but Gary was determined to never mention it again, much less complain.

 

Eventually, he was able to get his elbows over the edge and use them to pull himself up. He lay on his back in the grass, panting until a raindrop hit the back of his open mouth and made him cough. Ash came up in much less time, getting to his feet and winding the rope back up. “You’re gonna need to get back up again.” He called, going closer to the tree that he’d fixed the rope to. Gary groaned, pushing himself up until he was sitting. Both of them were entirely soaked, by that point. Pikachu, standing nearby and keeping a lookout, was looking a bit more like its drowned cousin than its typical cute self. Ash returned, stuffing the rope back into his backpack before glancing towards him. “...You’re really not gonna be able to walk, though, huh? D’you have any bigger Pokemon on you?”

 

“No.” Gary hesitantly admitted. “I only brought Umbreon and Skarmory. I was out checking on one of the local populations, and we usually catch them and bring them back to the lab. It’s quicker that way...but I obviously need free party slots for that. I should’ve taken something else…”

 

“S’not your fault. You did what you were supposed to...you can’t prepare for everything, Gary.” He was right, and Gary was grateful for it. The researcher gave him a weak smile as he approached. “C’mon...I gottcha.”

 

“Huh--?”

 

There wasn’t any time to prepare: Ash put one arm under Gary’s knees and the other behind his back before lifting him right off of the grass. Gary nearly panicked, his arms grasping tightly around Ash’s neck and shoulders and nearly toppling them both. When they were settled, Ash standing on his feet and Gary no longer trying to hang on for dear life, he could only give his friend as unimpressed and sour of a look as he could muster. Ash, in turn, blinked and looked confused. Gary supposed he must’ve looked less threatening than normal, because his face felt hot and he knew for sure that he was once again blushing like mad.

 

 

Though, thankfully, so was Ash.

 

“Uh...you okay? I didn’t mean to freak you out.” The dark-haired boy shifted a little in place nervously.

 

“‘M fine…” Gary managed to bite out. “I’m good. Just...walk, okay? We’re never bringing this up ever again, either. Ever. _Ev-er_.”

 

Pikachu might’ve been snickering; it was hard to tell given the heavy rain around them. Still looking slightly wary, Ash did as he was told and began to walk. He only stopped so that Gary could hold his backpack, given that his arms were full and he couldn’t put it back on normally. Ash picked his way carefully through the underbrush, with Pikachu guiding him to stable areas of ground to place his feet and Gary occasionally telling him to watch his footing. All the while, his grip never wavered on Gary’s body and Gary in turn kept his arms around the other’s neck.

 

“...Thank you.”

 

Ash let out a small, questioning noise, glancing at him briefly. “Thanks. For helping me out.” Gary explained, quietly. “You could’ve just left me there and gone to get help.”

 

“Oh…” The other boy grinned a little, flashing a bit of his teeth. “Well, yeah, I guess so. But I’d hate to leave you by yourself, especially after being stuck there for a while all alone. Besides, what’re friends for, right?”

 

Friends...it was nice to know that they actually were friends again. Gary wasn’t sure how he’d gotten by without that particular friendship in his early training days. ‘Lonely’ wasn’t quite the right word to describe it. He missed it, really, and now that they were on better terms he felt a bit more at ease with himself. “I still snapped at you.” He found himself saying, wincing slightly.

 

“You’re hurt. I’d be kinda worried if you DIDN’T snap at me, t’be honest.” Ash replied, slyly.

 

Gary smirked back at him for a split second. They fell silent again.

 

“...Hey.” Once again, Gary broke the quiet.

 

“Hm?”

 

“I told you not to bring this up again, and you won’t, right?”

 

Ash hesitated, then nodded while looking slightly annoyed. “I’m not gonna bruise your ego or anything, jeeze…” He mumbled.

 

“You promise? Not a word about ANY part of it?” Gary pressed, looking over his shoulder pointedly.

 

“Promise.”

 

It still took Gary a second or more to act, but when he did, it was to kiss Ash’s cheek just under where one of his odd little scars were. Ash stumbled in shock, nearly smashing head first into a nearby tree; Gary clung even tighter to him as a result, burying his face into the crook of his arm. From there, he could hear Pikachu’s muffled squeaks of worry and Ash’s equally muffled assurance that he was all right. They didn’t move, however.

 

“...Did you just…?”

 

He nodded, unwilling to look up.

 

“...I’m not mad, y’know.”

 

“So then we’re still friends, right?” Gary asked, finally daring to lift his face from his arm. Ash was looking steadfastly in the opposite direction. “And you promised you wouldn’t bring it up.”

 

“Not ever.” Ash added on.

 

“Never.”

 

“So...if we don’t bring it up, does that mean we can’t do things like it again?”

 

Oh…

 

 _Oh_.

 

So perhaps Arceus did not, in fact, hate Gary Oak. Well...maybe not entirely, anyway.

 

“Just...not in front of people.” Gary conceded, “The last thing I need is it to get back to Gramps. He’d have _Skittys_.”

 

Ash snorted, then began laughing aloud. It was a sound of relief. “Okay…! If you say so. But I don’t think your grandpa’d be too mad.” He managed through giggles. By that point, Gary himself was chuckling with him. Shifting a little, Ash started to walk again. “Let’s get you back so somebody can patch you up.”

 

Thunder rumbled once again, though less threatening than before. Perhaps it was Gary’s imagination, but the rain also seemingly lessened just slightly. If he kept his forehead pressed to Ash’s face the whole rest of the way out of the forest, no one was going to know. Nobody except Ash.

 

And that was just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Art in this piece was again done by putridpastries, and can be viewed in better resolution on their blog. Cheers~


End file.
